World War X
by TheFrankMaster
Summary: The war between the Enlightened and the Resistance is finally at an end. Resistance sergeant Cody Boone was chosen to be the one to destroy their enemies for good – a mission he would never return from. However, it would seem that his demise was not as close to him as he initially thought. And that his job as a rebel is far from done. [Contains Mob Talker]
1. Cody's last mission

**Author's Note: Hi, everybody! Welcome to my first fanfiction story. Because this is my first fanfiction, I am pretty nervous about how the readers will respond to it. I really want to improve my writing skills though, so constructive criticism is welcome.**

 **Also, I'm Dutch, so don't expect the best grammar in the world. Inform me if I make any mistakes.**

 **This Ingress universe is a bit different from the game: there is a war where the Enlightened are the oppressive dictators who use the XM to indoctrinate the minds of their people. They are at war with the Resistance soldiers who hide in ruins and underground. Both factions use futuristic laser guns, not unlike those used in** ** _Terminator_** **.**

 **Also, my knowledge about Ingress is limited, and the same can be said about the Mob Talker Mod.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Ingress, Minecraft or the Mob Talker Mod.**

* * *

 _Chapter one: Cody's last mission_

"Sergeant Boone!"

The loud, stern voice echoed through the tunnel, alerting everyone who was present. The voice belonged to a big, muscular man with hair as black as night and piercing dark blue eyes, which gave off an intimidating, authoritative vibe. His bulky body almost made it seem like his usual day consisted of lifting trucks, and his many scars emphasized his experience and skill in combat. He wore a black T-shirt with military camouflage pants and black, strong shoes.

The man in question was 50-year-old general Scott Boone, a highly respected Resistance soldier. His voice, combined with the glare on his face was enough to silence an entire room, as evident by the lack of sound in the tunnel he currently found himself in. His glare was directed at his son: sergeant Cody Boone, the only person around who managed to refrain from flinching when his father called out to him.

The 23-year-old sergeant was also muscular, though not as much as his father. He had a much slender and smaller body, making him faster and more agile. The only hair he had was a thin layer of dark brown thorn-like spikes. His facial hair was the same story. He had dark blue eyes, like his father, which always looked cold as ice and devoid of emotion.

Cody slowly turned around to face his father, who walked towards him until their faces were mere inches away from one another, the general's eyes burning with anger. The sergeant himself was unfazed by his father's glare; he had seen it many times before.

The general knew that his son was used to the glares he gave him, so he decided to get the heavy weight off of his chest. His glare intensified, and he slowly began to talk.

"Why?" he growled. "Why did you do it?"

His son glared back with his usual cold eyes. He didn't respond. He rarely did.

The silence made Scott even more angry; his blood was already boiling, but now it was starting to _burn_.

"Do you really think a suicide mission is the answer to all this!?" he shouted in his son's face. "Didn't you consider the fact that this will end in certain death for you, _soldier_!?"

Finally, Cody replied: "I did."

This seemed to piss Scott off even more at first, until his face turned from seething to saddened. His eyes and voice softened.

"Then why did you do it? Why did you volunteer?" he asked. "You can't do this. Send someone in your place."

His son scoffed in response. "'Send someone in my place'?" he snickered. "I would be no better than the Enlightened if I'd do something like that." He looked his father in the eye. "I think I'd rather die than let someone die in my place."

"I can't let you do this," Scott replied. "I won't. I'll send corporal Foreman in your place."

Cody scoffed again. "Harry? That kid doesn't even know how to fly a freaking jet. Let alone crash it into the building we need to destroy. Besides, if there's anyone who doesn't deserve to die, it's him."

Suddenly, his father's glare returned, giving him back his monstrous appearance. He growled and said: "I. Will. Not. Let. You. Go!"

And with that, he turned around and walked into the darkness of the tunnel.

Cody gritted his teeth in frustration and anger. He should've known his father would catch wind of his involvement in the mission eventually. Yes, it was a suicide mission, but it would _end the war_. The sergeant himself was born during that very war, so he never got to experience a peaceful life. And he wanted to give other people just that: peace.

Maybe… with a little bit of stealth he would manage to do the mission a few hours before schedule.

* * *

 _The next day, 06:00_

Cody stealthily crept to where the jets were kept. He didn't need his father's interference in this case, so he decided to ignore pretty much every order thrown at him that had something to do with the mission. He didn't realize that he was actually going rogue, until he was about to enter the aircraft…

But he couldn't go back now. It was time to win the war, that people could no longer control the Exotic Matter created by the Shapers. It was time to give the ones that had fallen under its influence back their will and humanity.

He took a deep breath and cautiously entered the combat vehicle.

The cockpit was all too familiar to him: he had flown this thing many times before, mostly during attacks on the bases of the Enlightened. He remembered the confusion he felt when he first entered a jet like this. He never thought he would be able to fly it decently or even remember the controls. Now, he was said to be one of the best pilots in the Resistance despite his young age.

It was then that the sergeant mentally slapped himself for forgetting to open the hangar doors. He couldn't really fly through this base to leave through the front door, now could he? He chuckled at the image of the jet slowly but stealthily floating through the tunnels, barely fitting, only to burst out of the main entrance.

He quickly left the vehicle and walked to the control room. There, he found what he wanted: an old, somewhat rusty panel with way too many buttons, switches and screens.

He knew that once he opened the doors he had to act fast, as the sounds of said doors opening would be louder than a bomb blowing up. The last thing he needed was his father putting him into their little jail cell until the mission had a new 'hero'.

His hands automatically moved over the panel, pressing buttons and pulling switches to order the large doors to open. This wasn't new to him, either: when he wasn't on a mission, he was usually eating, sleeping, doing push-ups or controlling this panel.

His finger was only an inch away from the last button he needed to press, when he stopped. Should he really leave his father without saying anything? Cody's mother died when the boy was ten years old. She was with the Resistance too, and her squad was ambushed by Enlightened soldiers. The only survivor was the squad's second-in-command, lieutenant Ichor, who was forced to flee when the others were dead.

His father could be obnoxious, but that was no reason to leave him just like that. _And what about my squad?_ Cody thought. _They always see me as their leader, the example they have to follow. Would they even survive without my help?_

But then he silenced himself. If the war would be over, they wouldn't have much trouble surviving. And if he was gone, the others would have more supplies to use. It was mandatory for all eighteen-year-olds in the Resistance to join their military, and everyone who was younger than that didn't get as much food. Sure, food was scarce for everyone, but the soldiers always got more than the rest because of their duties.

The sergeant made up his mind. "The food here is terrible anyway," he muttered. And with that, he pressed the button.

A roaring, ear-piercing noise broke the silence throughout the entire underground hideout as the large hangar doors opened. Cody ran out of the control room and into the jet, which he activated quickly. He buckled up and closed the cockpit, right when his father entered the hangar with a group of soldiers.

Scott's face was dripping with sweat as he ran through the hangar doors. It didn't take long for him to see what was going on: his son had gone rogue, and was now stealing a jet. No doubt for that mission of his. The general looked through the cockpit's window to see his son's face look back at him. Cody's eyes seemed much softer than usual as he stared back at his father.

"CODY!" Scott yelled in vain. The great determination in Cody's eyes was almost tangible. Father and son looked one another in the eye one more time.

Then, the sergeant took off and flew through the half-open hangar doors, leaving behind a broken Scott Boone.

* * *

Cody felt regret take over his mind as he flew through the air. His father had already lost almost everyone he cared about. Friends, family… his son was the only family the general had left and he knew it. But he felt that he had no choice. He wanted to end this war more than anything, even if it meant that he would die.

Right when Cody was done feeling regretful, he noticed that he was nearing the building he was looking for. It was in the middle of the city the Enlightened had built: Lumen.

He didn't need to worry about any defenses or being detected at all, as he was using a stealth aircraft. He had done his homework and planned ahead. This is why it is a suicide mission: the Resistance stealth jets don't have any weapons, and combat jets are easily spotted on the Enlightened radar. They would be destroyed if they even came somewhat close to the city.

The building was tall. This was it: the place where the top members of the Enlightened were having a conference right now. It was also where they kept the machines they used to control the portals, and countless other stuff that was vital for the survival of the Enlightened faction.

For the first time in a while, Cody felt an emotion he never liked to feel: fear. This was not only the end of the war, but also _his_ end. He would not survive this.

But he pulled himself together. He was used to the fear of death. He had experienced it many times, and he had gotten over it. He had learned that death would be a liberation in this world: a release. Not something to be feared.

Cody took another deep breath and set course for the building. He went faster and faster until his speed surpassed the velocity of sound. As he raced for the building, many thoughts went through his head. His father. His friends. The end of the war.

Yes... the end of the war...

Here it comes. Brace for impact.

Cody's life flashed before his closed eyes as a vivid hallucination, before the jet crashed into the building.

Sergeant Boone's legacy was that of a man who ended the greatest war known in history.

The man had ended World War Three.

* * *

 **Please tell me what you think. Again, do not hesitate to give constructive criticism and point out any spelling/grammar errors.**

 **Just go easy on me: this is my first story.**

 **I hope I will keep the motivation to continue this story. Also, the MineCraft part will be introduced in the next chapter.**

 **Have a nice day!**


	2. Help from the unknown

**Hello again! Here's the second chapter of World War Three. This was written before my first chapter was read, so I haven't been able to read any of your criticism so far.**

 **Anyway, on to the story!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Ingress, Minecraft or the Mob Talker Mod.**

 _Chapter two: Help from the unknown_

A shadowy figure sat on the floor in a dark, barely lit room. Its eyes were closed, its back straight. It was clear the figure was meditating, as it sat as still as a rock in the complete silence of the room. Hours passed.

Then, the figure opened his eyes, revealing a pair of white glowing orbs. It stood up, revealing its immense height of nearly seven feet. Its body looked like that of a body builder with strength far beyond that of a normal human, with extremely large muscles that were even visible through his sea blue T-shirt.

Once the creature stood up, something seemed to open in front of him: some kind of portal, with on the other side a city visible. Said city seemed to be technologically very advanced, with devices and machinery that seemed to come from some other world.

As the portal-like… thing opened, light was shone from it on the aforementioned creature's face and torso, revealing tanned skin and messy brown hair. Its light blue T-shirt was torn, as were its darker blue pants. It wore gray mountaineering shoes, which also had a few tears in them.

Through the portal, the creature saw oppression. The power to control minds was abused to indoctrinate the innocent. The abusers lived like kings with absolute control.

There were others, however. Untouched by the corruption this power brings from whatever dark place it originates. They fought the abusers with everything they had, but their efforts were not enough to save the innocent. The conditions in which they lived were dismal. Food, weapons and warriors were scarce, making them seem like ants beneath the boots of the abusers.

However, from one of the few rebel bases, a man emerged. A war hero, who decided to sacrifice his life for his cause. He took matters into his own hands, disobeying his father and superior to fight and die for what he believed to be right.

The portal showed an aircraft with the war hero, heading towards the very core of the advanced city: a tall building, where the abusers and their vile creations were housed. The war hero, who was in control of the aircraft, flew towards his target with high velocity.

The aircraft flew into the building, causing a massive explosion. As a result, the tower collapsed, leaving no survivors. The war hero, too, was-

"No," the creature suddenly said. Its dark, echoing voice sounded more like that of a demon than that of a man.

Time on the other side of the portal seemed to freeze as the creature took a step closer to it, examining the spot where the flying object crashed into the structure. It stood still for a few seconds before pointing at said spot.

"I will not allow him to die. He will be brought to our world, where he will be allowed to begin a new life."

Another figure was behind him. This one was smaller and thinner and looked more feminine, making one think of a teenager girl. It did, however, have the same white glowing eyes, and wore similar clothing. This second figure carried what appeared to be a pickaxe swung over its shoulder.

"Really?" it said in a female human voice. "Why?"

Upon seeing the glare of the first figure, it hastily added: "I-I didn't mean any disrespect, just… why _specifically_ him? I mean, I know you save people from death almost every day, but… that's usually in _our_ world. What caught your attention in that one?"

The first figure's eyes turned from angry back to normal. It turned its gaze back to the portal.

"This person went rogue and sacrificed himself for what he believed to be right. He was born in this war, making him a stranger to peace. Yet he was selfless enough to allow himself to die for the greater good. That attracted my gaze," the figure replied. "I want him to feel the peace he gave to his fellow soldiers."

The second figure seemed confused. She understood why her father wanted to save the human, but why transport him to _their_ world? After all, It's not entirely peaceful there, either.

Her father knew what was on her mind. He always did. "Trust me," was his answer to the unspoken question.

The portal closed.

 **Have a great day, everyone!**


	3. A new world

_Chapter three: A new world_

A young girl who seems like she is about sixteen years old worked on a small plantation, which consisted of some earth for the wheat, some water for growth and a fence for protection. Right next to the plantation was a mountain, and in said mountain was a door leading to a cave.

The girl's name was Cupa. She mostly wore green clothing, the most noteworthy feature being a blocky, angry face on her hoodie. Her gloves were brown. Cupa herself had amber hair and eyes. Her skin was a bit pale.

The place where she lived was… unstable. She and her kind were hunted by humans, the dominant race in her world. She wasn't sure why, but she thought it was done out of fear for what she and her friends could do. They were… different.

Cupa was finally done with her work on the plantation and decided to go to her cave to get some rest. She left the fence through the small gate in it and went to the door in the mountain. The place where she and her friends lived was deserted; there was no human city or town for miles. It was the safest base they could find.

It was quiet inside the cave. There wasn't really that much to do around here other than work on the plantation to make sure they would have enough food to live on. Sometimes, though, she would take a walk with one of her friends. _That's actually a good idea right now_ , she thought. _I just have to find someone who would be willing to come with me_.

Most of her friends couldn't really do that during this time of the day, however. The sun hurts them. Fortunately, there are a few exceptions, one of them being another girl named Andr. She and Cupa had known each other for a long time; they were best friends since the first time they met. They both remembered that day, and Cupa recalled how shy her friend was at first.

Through the time that they had known one another, their friendship became stronger. It took a long time to help Andr get rid of her shyness, and even now it isn't fully removed. Sure, she had shown some improvement, but only towards her friends. She couldn't look a stranger in the eye for more than a second before turning away with a reddened face.

The girl in green reached her friend's bedroom door and knocked on it. She immediately heard some stumbling from beyond it before it was opened by a tall, brown-haired, purple-eyed girl in black clothing. She also had a black hat with purple eyes on it, somewhat similar to the face on Cupa's hoodie.

"Hey, Cupa," Andr said, happy to see her friend. "How are you doing?"

"Doing just fine. You?" the girl in green responded. Andr smiled.

"Yeah, me too. Anyway, what's going on?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing big or anything. I just wanted to see if you wanted to take a stroll with me," Cupa said.

"Sure!" her friend replied. "Same route as usual?"

Cupa shrugged. "Ehh, why not," she said. "Let's just not forget to inform the others this time."

Andr just chuckled.

* * *

The landscape in their world was amazing. It had tall mountains and deep canyons. The main entrance of the cave was in a mountain, but the majority of it was under the ground, making it less visible.

The girls were just walking and talking about all sorts of stuff. It was just another day for them. Or so it seemed…

Suddenly, the two heard a loud _boom_ coming from a ravine, which nearly gave them a heart attack. The noise was loud enough to make them cover their ears, and it continued for about a minute or so. When it was done, the girls, who were still shaking, uncovered their ears and looked at each other worriedly.

"Wh… What was that!?" Andr wheezed. Cupa remained silent, unable to form any words for a few seconds.

When she got her voice back, she said: "We should check it out."

Andr wasn't sure if she should agree. Cupa noticed her friend's doubt, and added: "I'm scared too, but if someone's hurt, we have to help them."

With that Andr agreed, and the two cautiously walked towards the ravine. When they peeked over the edge, the two were shocked to see a man lying unconscious on the bottom. His presence was betrayed by the light from the lava pool right next to him. Said lava pool also revealed several small pieces of an unknown object surrounding the man.

After a short while of staring, Cupa regained her senses. She looked at her shocked friend. "We need to help him," she calmly said. Andr looked at her in response, before getting her senses back as well.

"Right…" she whispered, before seemingly vanishing into thin air. After a second or two, she reappeared with the man. "Let's go home," she quietly said, before gently grabbing Cupa's wrist and vanishing with both her and the unidentified person.


	4. The soldier's awakening

_Chapter four: The soldier's awakening_

"Ugh…"

Cody slowly woke up from a slumber he didn't even know he was having. He felt that he was lying on something soft. It was like his mattress, but more comfortable. _Hmmm… wh… what happened?_ He wondered.

 _I remember going on a mission, and…_ The events of that day suddenly hit him like an aircraft. His eyes flew open and he sat up, awakening a sharp pain in his abdomen.

"Agh…" he groaned as he clutched onto his stomach. Trying to ignore the pain, the soldier looked around the room he was in. It was small and shabby; the kind of sleeping area he was used to. The bed was the only thing in the cave-like space.

Cody wasn't used to the comfort the bed gave. His own mattress back at the Resistance base was a lot harder. Then, he remembered something else. Something he did just before the mission. It was an old habit, and old habits die hard: he had brought his sidearm with him.

His hand and eyes immediately went to his holster, finding it empty. He groaned again, but this time not in pain.

"That's just great…" he muttered as he stood up, ignoring the other pain he felt in the process. He knew what he was going to do.

Find answers. And his gun.

* * *

Spidey sat in her room, doing nothing in particular. Or so it seemed. She was thinking about the unknown human her friends brought in a few days ago. Of course helping him was something they had to do, even if he was human. He wasn't too hurt, fortunately, but he certainly would have died if Cupa and Andr hadn't found him. But what to do with him after he was fully healed was still undecided.

Since he was human, their first decision was to let him leave in peace once he was fully healed. However, they quickly realized that it wasn't really the best idea: he could betray their position to the locals, bringing them in danger since their kind was still hunted.

The second counterargument was his clothing and the object he had with him: most humans in their world wore robes. The girls were exceptions, and so was the person they found. As for the object, which was assumed to be a weapon, didn't seem magical in the least. This man looked like he was brought here straight from a world where technology is used more than sorcery.

That was their eventual theory: he came from a technological world, and most likely wouldn't be able to survive or integrate in a place like this without the proper guidance.

Spidey looked to her left, where she saw the technological object lying on her cupboard. The others thought she should keep it with her: her strength, speed and agility made her the expert at unarmed combat among them, making her the most qualified to guard this weapon from anyone who wanted to get it – including the actual owner.

And she was allowed to use it in case she was attacked.

* * *

Cody snuck through a hallway, still ignoring the lingering pain. He needed to be stealthy to get his gun back and escape. Regardless of who helped him or why they did so, he was afraid of what they would do if they found out he was awake. Maybe they needed him for their own selfish reasons, and he didn't really feel like getting used.

He was at a corner now. He had to be careful if he didn't want to be seen. He cautiously went ahead and peeked around the corner.

Nothing but another hallway, this time with rows of doors on the sides.

He snuck into the hallway, careful not to alert anyone who may be behind the doors.

Right after the hallway of doors was an intersection of hallways. _Not good_ , Cody thought. _If there's anyone in one of these hallways, I'll be seen for sure. Also, this doesn't make finding the exit easier – or my gun for that matter._

He was just about to peek into the corridors to his left and right, when he heard one of the doors behind him creak open. The alarmed soldier whirled around to see a girl standing in the opening of one of the doorways, looking at him. Her purple hair was tied into a long ponytail. Her clothing was gray and black, and her eyes were a blood red.

"So you're awake," she said in a somewhat cold voice. "You could've just hollered or waited for us, ya know. You're not fully healed yet."

"Who are you? And where's my gun?" Cody threateningly asked, ignoring what the girl said. She seemed unfazed by his menacing voice and scowled.

"You're _welcome_ ," she said. "And if you're talking about that thing you had on your belt, you're not getting it anytime soon."

"Then I'll just have to get it from you," Cody growled as he took on a fighting stance.

The girl smirked. "I don't want to hit an injured person," she said. "It never really gets me a good fight."

Cody scoffed. "Well, I don't want to hit a girl. Never gets _me_ a good fight, either," he responded, making his opponent's smirk turn into a scowl. She took on a fighting stance herself.

"Think you're funny?" she asked. "Let's see how much you'll laugh after this!"

She charged. She was fast, but Cody managed to grab her and throw her into the nearby wall. He raised his fist to punch her face, but she dodged his strike. He grunted as his fist came into contact with the stone wall. The girl saw her chance and kicked him in the popliteal, making him kneel. She put her arm around his neck from behind, but made sure not to squeeze.

"You're out of your league," she said. But she spoke too soon, as evident by the fact that Cody stood back up, fast as lightning, and threw her over his shoulder. Once she was lying on the ground, Cody proceeded to put his foot on her throat. However, the girl rolled away and quickly stood up. They glared at one another until the girl suddenly smirked again.

"You're better than I thought, I'll give you that," she admitted. "But you won't be able to beat-"

She was silenced as another voice interrupted her speech. "What is going on here!?" the voice demanded. Cody looked towards its origin to find another girl standing there. This girl looked nothing like the first one. She had gray hair and eyes. She also had a bow in her hand. Her clothing was also gray, and a lot more revealing: her 'private places' were covered, but only just enough. She had a quiver with arrows.

"For goodness' sake…" the first girl muttered before she answered the second girl's question with a "Nothing!"

The second girl gave her a weird look before responding. "Spidey, I'm pretty sure that 'nothing' doesn't sound like a duel between a guy who looks like a soldier and a certain purple-haired boastful girl," she calmly said. The last part made the first girl, who seemed to be called Spidey, glare at the second one.

"'Boastful girl'? Really?" she said. "Maybe we should find out which one of us is really the best at fighting here, then!"

The second girl seemed unfazed by the threat, and responded: "Calm down, I was only joking. Besides, we need to welcome our guest." She turned to Cody, who had been watching the whole argument between the two.

She gave him an apologetic smile. "My apologies, sir. I hope the fight between you two wasn't too difficult to handle," she said. "You probably want some answers as well, but I need your word that you'll remain peaceful."

Cody thought about that for a while. So far, neither of the two had tried to actually harm him. Sure, there was the fight between him and Spidey, but that was partially his fault. That second girl also had a bow and arrows, so she could've shot him the moment she saw him. If they wanted to use him for something, they could force him to easily.

"Fine," Cody said, causing the second girl to smile again. "Excellent," she said. "Follow me. Oh, yeah…" she held out her hand for Cody to shake. "My name is Skelly. Pleased to meet you!"


	5. Stories to tell

_Chapter five: Stories to tell_

Skelly took Cody and Spidey to a larger room with a table in the middle. Said table was surrounded by chairs, making it look like a conference room.

"Go ahead and sit," she said. "Wait for me to get the others."

With that, she left the room.

Cody did as he was told and sat down on one of the chairs, groaning softly as his abdomen hurt again. Spidey sat down as well, and took the time to discretely study the human.

He seemed rather strong but agile at the same time. His skin was pale, as if he rarely saw the sun. He had a somewhat thin layer of dark brown hair on his head. He also had some facial hair of the same length and color. His cold, emotionless eyes were a dark blue. He appeared to be in his early twenties.

 _This guy seems like a soldier_ , she thought. _I guess that explains why he was able to fight back decently. And why he can ignore the pain that well._

She suddenly realized she was staring and looked away, blushing and mentally slapping herself. Fortunately for her, Cody was too deep in thought to notice her stare. He was thinking about his past, present and future. The place he left behind, the questions he had and how he was going to get back.

 _I wonder how dad is doing,_ he thought. _And my friends. Is the war really over? Everyone must think I'm dead. I thought I was a goner myself, since nobody could ever survive such an explosion. Especially from that altitude._

The two were interrupted from their thoughts when the door opened. Skelly stood on the other side with other people Cody wasn't familiar with. He and Spidey stood up as the group entered the room.

The majority of the group consisted of girls. Most of them were looking at him curiously, while others looked away in shyness. Among the girls, Cody caught a glimpse of one boy who seemed to be around ten years old.

Skelly smiled. "Boy and girls, I would like you to meet someone," she said. "His name is Cody Boone, but he prefers being called Sergeant." She looked at Cody. "Sergeant, I would like you to meet…" she suddenly stopped talking as she looked back at the large group. "…well… this is going to take some time."

It did indeed take a while to get all the names and shake all the hands. When they were finally done, Cody was told to sit at the very end of the table. He did so, and once everyone else was seated, Skelly spoke up: "Now, Sergeant, why don't you tell us about what happened before you appeared in the ravine you were found in."

"Alright…" Cody replied. "I should probably start at the very beginning. Since I'm not from around here, I'll just give you all some history first." He sat up.

"Several decades ago, before my birth, portals started opening all around the planet. We didn't know anything about their origin, but we suspect they were created by extraterrestrial life forms or ancient civilizations. We did know, however, that they created or transported a new type of energy to our world."

He was silent for a moment to let that information sink in. Then, he continued.

"This energy, which we call Exotic Matter or XM, could give one the ability to influence thoughts of humans."

"That sounds pretty scary," the boy of the group, who was called Yaebi, softly said. Cody nodded.

"It is. What makes it worse, is that there were people who thought the energy should be used to take human evolution to its next level. This group, the Enlightened, got their hands on more and more portals. They used the energy to get absolute control over the planet. Democratic ideas were swept away."

"T-that's horrible…" a tall girl in black said. Cody recalled her name was Andr. He was pretty sure she was the shyest of the bunch. The others were completely flabbergasted by the story.

"There were some people who thought that too," he said. "When they united, they formed the Resistance. They wanted to limit the use of Exotic Matter and the ingression of whoever created it." He looked at them all. "I am the son of a Resistance general. I've been trained to become a soldier all my life."

He was silent again when a girl in green clothing (her name was Cupa) suddenly spoke up. "How did the war end?" she softly asked. "And what happened after that?"

"That's… complicated…" Cody responded. "I'm not sure if the war is over yet." The girls gave him puzzled looks, which was enough for him to continue.

"A few days ago, I… disobeyed the rules," he said. "We knew where the highest Enlightened members were; it was the same place where they temporarily kept their machines which they used to control the Exotic Matter." He took a deep breath. He didn't know how the girls were going to react to what he said next. "I had to go on a suicide mission."

The room was silent for a moment. On their faces he saw shock, confusion and disbelief. He didn't blame them.

After what seemed to be hours of silence, Skelly spoke up. "Then how did you end up… here?"

Cody shook his head. "I don't know," he simply answered. "I remember crashing into the building with my aircraft, then waking up here. I know It's hard to believe, but I know what I saw."

"Um…" Andr suddenly said. The others looked at her questioningly. "What is it, Andr?" Skelly asked. Andr remained silent and looked at the ground. Then Cupa said: "We heard a loud noise coming from the ravine we found Sergeant in," she said. "It's what got our attention in the first place."

"…I see," Skelly said. She turned her attention back to Cody. "I suppose it may have had something to do with the impact of your aircraft into the building." Cody just shrugged. "I guess."

There was another brief silence.

"Now…" Cody said, "…Tell me your story."

The _instant_ he said that, the atmosphere changed. Skelly cautiously looked at the others, who looked back worriedly. Cody leaned back in his chair. "We had a deal, Skelly," he said in an intimidating tone. "I've done my thing, now you do yours."

Skelly was taken aback by this at first, but quickly regained her composure.

"Alright," she whispered.

"For as long as everyone can remember, this world has known two intelligent species: humans and mobs," she began. "You know about the humans; your world is full of them. The mobs were different: they had abilities beyond that of normal humans, making them potentially far more dangerous."

A moment of silence occurred before Skelly continued. "Despite that potential danger, the two races lived in peace and harmony with one another. Until, many centuries ago, the humans turned against the mobs."

This confused Cody. "Why?" he asked. Skelly shrugged.

"We never knew for sure, but we believe that it was done out of fear for those aforementioned abilities. Even now, our kind is hunted by the humans, likely because everyone believes that malevolence is in our nature."

"Wait…" Cody suddenly said, having noticed something about what she just said. "Did you just say 'our kind'?"

The group, including Skelly herself, froze. Her face reddened a bit. "D-did I?" she nervously asked, causing Cody to roll his eyes.

"Don't play dumb," Cody firmly said as he looked around the group. "You're these mobs you're talking about, aren't you?" Skelly was frozen for one more second before she sighed, looked at the ground and closed her eyes. The others warily looked at Cody, who sighed too.

"Alright, look," he began. "Yes, I'm human, but I'm not from around here. I have no problem with you." This made Skelly and the others look back at Cody with hopeful eyes.

"You… don't?" she hesitatingly asked. Cody sighed again.

"You helped me. I didn't trust you when I woke up but I rarely trust anyone immediately anyway, so nothing new there," he said. "And if these people are being indoctrinated into thinking you're evil, I'd say we need to give 'em an update."

The mobs were too astonished to say anything. They just looked at Cody, who suddenly grasped his abdomen.

"That reminds me…" he said as he suddenly felt a familiar feeling in his stomach. "You don't happen to have any food, do you?"

That snapped them out of their trance. Cupa smiled brightly. "Of course!" she cheerfully said. "I'll be right back with some bread." Before anyone could react, the girl in green was gone. Cody looked at Skelly questioningly. He didn't have much variation in food back at the Resistance base, and this 'bread' wasn't something he had ever heard of. He knew he was probably about to look stupid, but he didn't really care. He opened his mouth to ask:

"What is bread?"


	6. Restoring the Earth

_Chapter six: Restoring the Earth_

Scott Boone sat in the dining area of the deserted Resistance base. On the table in front of him were two objects: a bottle and a glass. Each few seconds he would pick up the former to refill the latter, and then empty the contents of the latter into his throat.

He had lost everything: his wife, his son… his self-respect was already damaged, but now it was as if someone dropped a weapon of mass destruction on it. He had been unable to keep his son from dying, to keep him from doing that idiotic suicide mission. It had only been a few days since Cody's death, and the fifty-year-old man had already become a self-hating drunk.

Of course, his son was known by most people as a hero: a man who ended the war and helped reveal the true nature of the Enlightened. Right after his death, the Resistance was able to show the machines which the Enlightened used to control the Exotic Matter to the public. They also cured the majority of the people of the mind-controlling effects that were used on them. These people were given back their humanity and opinion.

After that, the Resistance allowed every country to go their own way. The world was becoming what it used to be before the war, except that it was more… peaceful. Some countries that used to be at each other's throats beforehand were now discussing peace treaties and even alliances. It seemed that the war had proven to be a valuable lesson to everyone.

Of course some large parts of the planet were still battlefields and wastelands, but with the help of volunteers these areas were restored. Slowly, but surely.

Scott, however, couldn't enjoy any of it. Corporal Harry Foreman, a 20-year-old soldier of what used to be the Resistance Army and a good friend of Cody's, had made several unsuccessful attempts to get the general out of his depression. He was quite meek for a soldier, but he never gave up on a mission. He was young and gentle, but also a good Resistance member. He always wanted to use combat as a last resort, as he hated it to see others hurt – no matter how much of an asshole that other person was.

Cody had criticized the three-year-younger soldier for that more than once, but Scott knew his son respected the corporal as much as the corporal respected his son – and that was a lot. They rarely met, however, as Cody was a member of the Air Force: not the Army. Sure, he managed to stand his ground on the… well… ground, but his true domain was always the air.

Scott barely noticed the approaching footsteps. He knew it was Harry, probably coming to try to separate the general from his precious whiskey again. He poured some more of said whiskey into the glass and immediately into his mouth. As soon as the glass was empty, he swallowed. When he put it back down he saw Harry sitting across from him, giving him a disappointed look. This made the general sigh as he filled the glass with more of his liquor. Once he swallowed it, he spoke.

"Don't look at me like that." He proceeded to grab the bottle again when Harry suddenly snatched it away, angering his superior.

"Give that back!" he yelled as he stood up. The corporal stood up as well and took a step backwards.

"With all due respect, sir-," he began before being interrupted by the person he was talking to. "Don't give me that shit! Give. That. Back!"

"-I think you've had this for far too long!" Harry continued, walking backwards as the general advanced on him.

"I don't care what you think!" he retorted. "You're not the one who lost a family member!"

"Cody was like my brother!" the subordinate snapped. "I miss him too, but that's not an excuse to addict myself to alcohol."

Scott growled. "Corporal, I _order_ you to give me that bottle!"

"You can't order me anything, sir!" Harry replied. "According to the rules, you are now relieved from command. You have allowed your personal emotions and your booze to cloud your judgement. If you continue this, I will have to report you."

Suddenly, the general jumped forward and tried to snatch his whiskey bottle back. His drunkenness, however, overwhelmed him and he fell face first on the ground before he even got close to his target.

He lost consciousness.

Harry quickly ran to the limp body of the fifty-year-old, and kneeled beside him. After a quick examination, he knew what to do. Fortunately, he knew that there was a phone somewhere around here. It was old, but operational. He looked to the spot on the wall where it usually hung…

…when he saw it was gone.

The corporal stood up and frowned, when he suddenly felt a strong dizziness set in. He staggered for a few seconds, until he fell down the same way the general had.

He lost consciousness before he hit the ground.


	7. Behind the scenes

_Chapter seven: Behind the scenes_

The man with the white eyes was looking with interest through the same portal he had opened when he saved the War Hero from an inevitable demise. Next to him stood the girl, looking through the portal as well.

They saw things from two different worlds.

In one world they saw the War Hero, who attempted to integrate among the mobs he currently lived with. Despite his hidden slight uneasiness of living among a group that mostly consisted of females (the white-eyed girl couldn't help it when she let out a giggle upon noticing his discomfort), he had become surprisingly close with most of them over only a small span of time.

In the other world, a much darker event occurred: the hero's father allowed his mind to be clouded by the vile, addictive substance that was sometimes drunk by people from several worlds. The hero's friend had made several attempts to set the old man on the right path, but to no avail.

When the Friend stole the Old Man's liquor in an attempt to protect him from himself, a verbal battle was held between the two. The Friend attempted to reason with the drunk, only to fail once more as his opponent lunged at him.

That was when the White-Eyed Man froze time on the other side of the portal. He looked at the White-Eyed Girl.

"I believe we must make an attempt to help the War Hero's people," he said straight to the point. "They are his family and friends. They deserve to know that his life is not over." The Girl looked back at him.

"I agree," she replied. "But how? Do you want to bring them to the other world too? What if they don't manage to get back?"

"We will make sure they will be able to return," the Man replied, upon which the Girl frowned.

"We already sort of crossed the line when we helped that War Hero. If we keep using magic, our enemies will notice it and they won't be happy. Think about what Entity303 will do! Or-"

"I am aware of this," the Man calmly interrupted. "But I do not know if the War Hero can create a lasting peace between man and mob on his own. However capable he may be."

"I agree, but Dad…" the girl said. "…If they were to have a new peace, don't you think Entity might suspect something? The mobs would never be able to do it themselves, since humans usually attack them on sight."

The Man nodded. "Your expectations of such events are likely to happen," he said. "But we must do this. We defeated our enemies before. I will ask our allies for help if Entity were to inform other hostiles of our interference."

The Girl frowned again. "What makes you think they'll be willing to help? I doubt they would," she said. The Man, who sensed her fear, put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"We have many allies that will understand our actions and reasons. If Entity303 wishes a battle, he can get it," the Man replied. The girl knew that was true. She relaxed a little.

"You're right," she said as she cheerfully walked over to the portal. "Let's do this!"

The Man proceeded to stand next to her, glad that she agreed with this idea. Time in the other world continued with the Old Man falling to the ground, dazed. Of course he wasn't drunk enough for that: if he was, he would've needed much more effort to even stand up and talk.

It was the Girl's father, the Man, who had knocked him out.

Less than a minute later, he did the same to the Friend, quietly mumbling an apology as the human fell to the ground.

"Now…" the Girl said, "To transport them to the other world…"


	8. Time to talk

_Chapter eight: Time to talk_

Corporal Harry Foreman slowly regained consciousness. He partially opened his eyes to see a wooden ceiling above him, one that didn't look very familiar…

Once that last part was finally processed, his eyes flew fully open and he sat up in the bed he was lying in, breathing heavily as he did so. What happened yesterday? How'd he get here? Where _is_ here, anyway? Did someone take him to their home after finding him in the base? Where is general Boone?

His stomach sank. _Boone_ , he thought as he remembered his fight with the old man. Was he alright? Did he drink himself to death? _Please be alive…_

The corporal stepped out of the bed and examined the house he was in. It consisted of one room and was mostly made of wood, though the lower parts seemed more like stone. Aside from the bed he was lying in when he woke up, there weren't a lot of things in it other than two chairs, a small table, some kind of crafting bench and an old, primitive oven.

It was then that Harry remembered he was still wearing his soldier gear. He had been recognized as a guard of public order by the people: someone who kept things safe and calm. He didn't need to use it a lot after Cody's attack, however, given how quiet it had been.

There was one problem, though: he was wearing his uniform, but the rifle and sidearm he had with him were gone. _I guess that whoever helped me took it. Can't say I blame them, but I really need my weapons back. Surely, the people here will understand._

Then, he heard the familiar sound of a door opening behind him. He whirled around to see a girl with red/brown hair with pigtails. She had dark green eyes and wore a dark brown robe. In her arms she carried a stack of wooden branches, likely for the oven. Her green eyes looked at him with a relieved expression. Before Harry could say anything, she spoke.

"Thank goodness you're awake."

She walked towards him after putting the wood she had in her hands on the table next to the door.

"Are you all right?" she asked, visibly still worried.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," the corporal replied. "Just confused. Where am I?"

The girl smiled. "You're in the village Koïtia, stranger. You and your friend inexplicably appeared next to my house, both of you were unconscious. You weren't injured, but the other man had a large amount of a substance in his blood, deteriorating his health."

This scared the young man. This substance… alcohol! The general crossed the line with his booze and now…

"Is he going to make it?" Harry worriedly asked. The girl gave him a reassuring look.

"He is. Do not worry." Upon hearing that, the corporal let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "We need to keep him asleep for now, however, if we are to help his body recover from the damage it has suffered," she continued. "With what we have, it will take a day at most. Until then…" she sat on one of the chairs and signaled to him to take a seat as well. "…Let's talk!"

The following hours they spent talking and explaining the situations their worlds found themselves in. Harry still had trouble believing that he was transported to a completely different place – one in a whole other world. He believed his world was the only one in existence, but apparently not. He also learned about some kind of evil native race called the 'mobs', which looked human but were something completely different.

One of the most confusing things about the new world was that there were plenty of villages, but there were no countries. Their technology is also extremely primitive, and, according to the girl, they used magic. Harry was a little sceptic about that, but chose to keep his mouth shut for now.

The girl – Rachel was her name – was mesmerized when he told her about the war, their technology and the fact that magic was dismissed as a myth (he chose his words a bit carefully on that one, not wanting to offend her) and she seemed completely baffled – and sympathetic – when he told her about Cody's suicide mission that had helped them end the war. He also told her how it affected Scott, explaining how the substance had entered his blood in the process.

"We use a similar substance for some of our drinks," she said. "We are always cautious not to drink too much, as we have seen its effects before."

"We usually do the same," Harry explained. "But some people just take too much _on purpose_ when they go through a time like this."

There was a long silence. Rachel took this time to go into deep thought about these 'otherworldly' people. _With their weapons and great skill, they may be able to help us get rid of those mobs once and for all_ , she thought. _I just hope I will be able to convince him to do so_.

She looked back at Harry. He seemed like a good person so far. He was a little shy, but if he really was a warrior…

"Corporal?" she asked. This ripped the man in question out of his own thoughts and he looked at her.

"Call me Harry," he replied.

"Harry… perhaps you are able to help us," she said. The male raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean? Help you how?" he asked.

"Well… only if you are willing, of course," the girl continued. "You are a warrior, are you not?" Harry nodded. "Then, with your abilities and weapons, are you willing to help us defeat the mobs?"

Harry sort of saw this one coming. _I mean, like, I'm a soldier with super advanced stuff and their world is plagued with a bunch of evil… things. It was only logical if she asked._

He looked her in her eyes, which were visibly nervous for the answer.

"I'll do what I can, but if general Boone will work with me, it'll go a lot better. He's one of the best we have, and can always come up with a tactic. I'll try to convince him," the corporal responded. The nervousness in Rachel's eyes turned into pure joy and relief as a smile made its way onto her face. She stood up, walked around the table and unexpectedly gave Harry a hug.

"Thank you, Harry. You do not know how much this means to me – to Koïtia," she said.

Harry blushed a bit.

"I-I'm glad to help however I can," he responded.


	9. A new assignment

_Chapter nine: A new assignment_

A day had passed since Harry and Rachel exchanged information about their respective worlds of origin. After they were done talking, she had made him his own bed to sleep in (the bed she put him in after finding him unconscious was actually her own). Harry was amazed by how good its quality was; he wasn't really used to a mattress so soft. Or to the hospitality Rachel offered him, for that matter.

The corporal had been exploring the small town a bit. It was rather small and simple, having only two regular houses (including Rachel's), two huts, a butcher, a library, two farms, some kind of small mining facility, a blacksmith and a structure that looked like a church. According to Rachel, most people lived at their workplaces. The only exceptions were herself, a guy named Lambert who lived in the other house, Arthur who lived in a hut and Freya the priestess, who worked in the church during the day.

Harry was wandering through the village when someone suddenly tapped his shoulder. The soldier turned around and came face to face with Stephen, the miner whose height and strength could rival the general's. The difference between the two was that Scott was stern and cold, whereas Stephen was more of a gentle giant.

"Hey, Steve," Harry said. "What's going on?"

* * *

Corporal Foreman practically ran into Lambert's house/infirmary. Stephen, or Steve, just informed him that general Boone was awake. They managed to remove the alcohol in his blood and 'repair' the damage to his body. He had no idea how they did it, although he had caught wind of certain potions they use to heal and cure the patients.

Scott was alone when Harry entered the infirmary. The general was sitting on his bed, holding his head in his hands. He didn't react when the subordinate came in, but he spoke once the younger man approached him.

"I know I messed up."

The corporal stood still and looked at his superior, a serene expression visible in his eyes. He wasn't sure what to say to the general, but he could tell that Scott felt guilty about the fight they had before they were brought here.

Had he already been informed? Did he know that they weren't in the same world? And if he didn't it would probably be pretty difficult to convince him. Scott never really believed in paranormal phenomena such as magic or stuff like that, and Harry couldn't blame him. However, the latter's skepticism had diminished quite a bit during his time in Koïtia. They had been inexplicably transported to a whole other place, after all.

And then there were those potions they used for their patients…

"Sir," he began. "I will save you the trouble of apologizing; everything has been forgiven."

Scott looked up at him, and Harry could _swear_ that he saw the slightest bit of disbelief and relief in the older man's cold eyes. Then, the general stood up.

"You're too good, corporal," he softly said. "To be able to forgive someone for such a thing can't be easy. But then again… I guess you had a lot of opportunities to practice on some other assholes."

The younger man chuckled a bit. "I guess," he said. He then gave the general a questioning look.

"Have you been informed on our current position?" he asked. The general shook his head.

"No," he replied. "But judging from their way of living, I'd say we've somehow landed in some kind of primitive society. I have no idea how we got here, though. We were at the Resistance base when I blacked out, weren't we?"

"When _we_ blacked out actually, sir," Harry responded, seeming slightly ashamed. "Right after you fell to the ground, I felt a dizziness like never before. I lost consciousness before I could get help."

The general frowned. "Did these people tell you anything?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes sir," the younger man said. "But… it's not really something we hear every day."

He explained about how this was a whole other world with very different characteristics. He told about the magic that was apparently present there and that humans weren't the only intelligent race around. He told about the malevolent beings known as mobs and how their abilities exceeded human limits.

Scott was conflicted during and after the story. Magic? Another world? That's not possible, is it? But then again… how'd they get here at all?

"Sir," Harry said, snapping the general out of his thoughts. "There's something I need to ask of you."

"Sure, what is it?" the general replied. _The least I can do to set things right with this kid is to listen to what he has to say_ , he thought. _Even if it's about a personal favor._

The younger man swallowed. He didn't know why he was so nervous about asking this. Maybe it just felt too… selfish to do so.

"Well…" he began. "You see, I promised someone to help with their mob problem." He looked up at Scott. "We don't really know where these mobs hide, but if they're as powerful and malevolent as I was told, the two of us could be in danger as well. However, such a task is even more difficult than it already is if I have to pull it off on my own. And since we have more advanced weapons than these people…"

He stopped, giving the general some time to think. He wanted to help too, but how could they do anything if they didn't even know where their targets were?

"How, exactly, are we going to do this, corporal?" he asked. "If we have no clue as to their whereabouts, we're at a dead end before we even start." Harry sighed. The old man was right… but that wouldn't stop him from keeping his word.

"You're right, sir," he answered. "But we need to do something. We should go as a searching party of two if that's what it takes. Sooner or later, the mobs will mess up and make our job a whole lot easier."

A silence fell, allowing Scott to think once more.

"Fine," he eventually said. "Let's inform the village that we're leaving. And that we need our weapons back."


	10. Facing capture

_Chapter ten: Facing capture_

It had almost been a month since Cody got transported to the other world. He had used that time to get acquainted with the mobs. In the process, he had become a close friend to all of them quickly. True, they were still a bit wary of him, as evident by the fact that they still didn't let him have his gun. This didn't really bother him, though: he understood their fear. Their kind has had to hide for a long time from the humans, so a human with a powerful weapon in his possession was the last thing they needed.

So far, Skelly had been guiding him the most. She explained how things work in the world and what they had to do to survive. Cody had been more than willing to help with chopping wood, working on the farm, gathering food, etc. The mobs taught him everything he needed to know in order to aid their survival, and he was a quick learner.

There was something else going on without the soldier knowing, however. When the mobs gave him shelter, they had planned to let him stay temporarily until he knew how to survive on his own. However, with the great help Cody offered and his ever-growing friendship with them, they were having second thoughts about doing so. They've really taken a liking to him.

The man was currently asleep. They've allowed him to take the bed in which they put him when they found him approximately a month ago, and he had been prepared to strain his body to its absolute limits to help the group in return. Said group, however, was in disagreement with that; he had already helped them a lot, and didn't want his selflessness to tire him out like that. He had been losing sleep over tasks several times, and now it was time for him to catch up. Unfortunately, even this night wouldn't be a relaxing one for him. Or for the girls, for that matter…

Cody woke up to Yaebi's voice next to his bed. Skelly and Spidey had taken the boy outside to teach him more about survival and self-defense, but now he seemed scared. The 23-year-old sat up in bed and tried to shake the sleepiness out of his head as Yaebi kept talking with a speed that could rival corporal Harry Foreman's reflexes – and that was saying something.

Once the sergeant was done shaking his head, he looked down at the young mob.

"Calm down, kid" he said, silencing the boy. "Stay calm. Take a deep breath, and tell me what's goin' on."

Yaebi did as he was told and proceeded to fill his lungs with air. Right at that moment, a few knocks were heard on the door.

"Is everything alright in there?" Cupa's worried voice asked. "Can we come in?"

"Yeah, sure," Cody said. He never slept with too little clothing anyway.

The door opened, revealing a group of worried faces. They looked at the shaking boy and the soldier when the former spoke up.

"H-h-humans… a-attacked… Spidey a-and Skelly…" he stammered, before tears started running down his cheeks.

Gasps and worried whispers could be heard, and an electric shock went through Cody's body. Cupa walked forward to comfort Yaebi, but to no avail as the younger mob got drenched in tears. A sob left his throat.

* * *

When Yaebi finally settled down, Cody gently asked him to bring them to the crime scene. The sergeant had become slightly softer during his time in this world. He still seemed a bit insensitive most of the time, but he knew when he had to choose his words cautiously.

Yaebi did as he was told and brought the soldier and the girls to where his friends were abducted. It was a long way from the cave, so the young mob made sure to bring his heat-resistant jacket with him in case the sun would rise during their trip.

Once they were at the crime scene, Yaebi told them exactly what had happened. Apparently, the two girls were hit by some kind of blue light. They were badly hurt, but not immediately dead. Two men appeared from behind a tree, with weapons that fired more blue lights. Skelly told the boy to run, and so he did.

Cody froze. The men, the weapons, the _blue light_ … his world had weapons that fired blue lasers. His sidearm was one of them! But the bodies of the girls were nowhere to be seen…

"What did the men look like?" the sergeant asked. Yaebi swallowed.

"W-well…" he began. "O-one of them sort of looked l-like a giant. H-he was b-big, s-strong…" he looked at Cody. "Stronger than you, Mr. Sergeant."

"Did he…" Cody, whose face had become a ghastly pale. "…have black hair with some gray stripes?" Yaebi froze now too, confused before nodding.

"Y-yes…" he answered. "T-the other man h-had black hair, too. H-his skin w-was slightly tanned. He was m-much thinner th-than the other man."

Cody's face made him look like he had seen a ghost. The girls gave him questioning looks. Why did he seem so worried? And how did he know that the first guy had black with gray hair?

What Cody said next answered their questions.

"I think I know who these men are," he said. "The big guy is almost certainly my father, a respected Resistance general. The younger man is likely corporal Harry Foreman, a friend of mine who also fights for the Resistance."

He looked at the girls.

"The weapons are from my world. My gun back at our base fires similar projectiles. We need to go back there to get it." He looked at the ground, where their adversaries' footprints were still visible. "Then, I'll go after _them_."


	11. Know your enemy

_Chapter eleven: Know your enemy_

It was nighttime when Harry and Scott arrived at Koïtia with a welcoming party waiting for them. The reason for the special welcome was the fact that they had succeeded in their jobs: they had captured two mobs. Both were unconscious. Apparently, the two soldiers had been visible from far away, and Jasmine, the librarian, had gathered the other villagers to receive the men once she noticed them.

When the soldiers saw the three mobs near the end of their hunt, they weren't sure whether or not they actually were mobs at first. Sure, their clothing looked more like it came from their world, but that wasn't any evidence. Only when the one with purple hair shot spider webs out of her hands, they had enough reason to attack. The smallest one had escaped, but two was a good enough number.

The only one that wasn't cheering was Freya, the priestess. If anything, her face showed… disappointment. And sadness. She never agreed with the idea that mobs were evil: they had never seen it for themselves, after all. Stephen didn't seem happy, either. He never liked it to see others hurt, even if they were his worst enemies.

Once they were in the middle of the town, Scott dropped the girl with purple hair on the ground. Harry was more gentle, carefully laying the girl with grey hair about a meter away from the other one. He was kind of like Stephen: he wanted things to go peacefully. The difference was that Harry, being a soldier, was used to using violence and therefore felt less regret when he did so.

After a short while, one of the mobs slowly woke up. The purple-haired one opened her eyes and tried to look around when Scott suddenly kicked her in the face, causing her to fall down again.

"Agh…" she muttered.

Scott cracked his knuckles. "Now," he said. "You're going to tell me where your little friends are, or you and this girl…" he kicked the gray girl's unconscious body, "…are going to get bloody."

She grunted and tried to get up. Her progress was cut short, however, when the general kicked her in the stomach.

"General…" Harry blurted out. "I do not agree-"

"I know you don't, corporal, but that's just 'cause you're such a nice guy," Scott interrupted as he kicked the mob again. "Just leave the fighting to the big guys."

" _Sir-_ "

"Corporal, I order you to be silent or begone!"

"Even the Enlightened-"

"Don't you use that against me! From what we've heard, these monsters are worse than the Enlightened."

"You're violating-"

"Human rights? True, but these _things_ aren't even human at all so it doesn't matter anyway!"

Harry was silent as he gave the man he once respected a glare, which the general returned.

"You finally goin' to shut up? Good," the older man said. He turned back to the two girls on the ground and noticed that they were both awake now.

He walked over to the grey one and stomped his boot on her back. She groaned in pain. The general-turned-torturer turned to the purple one.

"Don't suppose you've told your friend about what's goin' to happen, right?" he asked. When he didn't get a response, he turned back to the one who was currently squirming underneath his foot.

"To summarize it, I'm goin' to cause you some pain and problems if you don't tell me where your group is." He put more pressure on his foot, causing the girl to groan again.

"Now, I'll start off kindly," he said as he bent down to her, removing his foot from her back. "Where are your allies? What kind of defenses can we expect?"

His victim simply looked at her torturer, causing him to kick her in the face.

"I'll ask again," he growled. "Where is your base?"

When she still didn't answer, he raised his foot. She flinched as it came down on her back.

"Stop!" the purple girl suddenly blurted out. Scott looked at her.

"She doesn't know anything!" the girl went on. "She's one of our guests! We didn't tell her anything!"

The general snorted. "Guest? Or prisoner? Either way, I'm not falling for it. Or…" he smirked darkly. "Maybe I'll interrogate you instead." He suddenly looked at Harry, his smirk gone. "Corporal, will you give me a hand? Why don't you go ahead and 'interview'-"

"No," the corporal cut him off. "This way, _we_ 're worse than the Enlightened." He glared at Scott, feeling an anger he never felt before. "As if you already hadn't crossed the line by cursing Cody's memory, you old _drunk_."

A silence fell. The expression on the general's face was a mix of shock and rage. He slowly removed his foot from the mob's back and walked towards his subordinate. Harry didn't move a muscle when the old man stood right in front of him, glaring him down.

"If all you can do is insult me," he said dead quiet. "You. Should. Leave."

Then, something happened that nobody had anticipated: the corporal turned around and walked towards the edge of the town. Scott's eyes grew wide.

"Corporal!" he yelled. "Come back!"

"Harry!" Rachel shouted to no avail. The corporal was nearly past the very last house of the village.

However, when he was practically out of the village, a figure jumped from behind that same house, grabbed him and holding what seemed to be a pistol against his head.

"Nobody move or I'll splatter his brains all over the place."

The voice echoed in Scott's head. He knew to whom it belonged. He'd recognize it at any time. But it couldn't be…

The figure threw Harry in their direction, causing the corporal to fall to the ground. When his attacker stepped into the light, he revealed himself as…

"…Cody?" Scott whispered in a raspy voice.


	12. Cody's Last Mission II

_Chapter twelve: Cody's last mission II_

With Andr's help, Cody, Yaebi and the girls were teleported back to the base. Once there, Andr vanished once more and reappeared with Cody's sidearm in her hands. She was holding it carefully, not wanting to shoot anyone. Fortunately, Cody noticed that her fingers weren't anywhere near the trigger.

"I'm going to need that," Cody said. "Then we'll go back to the crime scene. From there we can track them via their footprints."

He proceeded to grab his gun but Andr took a step back, taking the weapon with her. Cody frowned. He knew that they still didn't fully trust him with that thing, and he understood that. But now it was an emergency.

"Andr…" he softly spoke up. "I know that you don't like it to give me my gun, but now it's necessary. I wouldn't stand a chance against my fellow soldiers without it." He took a step in her direction. "You can trust me," he said.

Andr looked down. Then, she looked at her friends and was met with reassuring looks. Cupa gave her a nod, silently telling her to listen to the soldier.

Then, the girl in black turned back to Cody and slowly, hesitantly gave him his weapon back.

The sergeant calmly took it, examined it and then holstered it. That last action caused a wave of relief to go through the group.

"Thank you," he said to Andr, before proceeding to address the whole group. "Now, I know that you're not going to like what I have to say next." Upon saying that, he received worried looks. Cody swallowed a bit.

"You see…" he continued, "…to prevent any more killings by my colleagues, I'm going alone."

Immediately, a burst of protests was thrown at him. He heard several reasons as to why they disagreed, mostly about his safety. Cody tried to shout over it, but to no avail.

 _If only Skelly was here to silence the group_ , he thought.

It took a while for the group to grow quiet once more. Then, he explained.

"If they see me, they won't kill me. Maybe they'll lock me up, but I have experience with getting out of prisons." He thought back to the few times when he was captured by the Enlightened. "If they see one of _you_ , they'll shoot on sight. Losing Skelly and Spidey was hard enough already. Even if they're still alive, who knows in what state they find themselves in." He briefly looked at the ground before looking up again.

"My mother died in an ambush during a mission when I was ten," he said. "I've lost her to the Enlightened. I _will not_ allow anybody to die like that on my watch. That includes you all, _and_ Skelly and Spidey if they're still alive."

The group was silent. They didn't know about his mother's death. He never talked about his parents that much. During the whole time they had known him, he had always avoided conversations about his past and his family as much as possible.

This changed their minds.

* * *

Cody was following his fellow soldiers' footprints with an unbelievable speed and seemingly limitless stamina. The two soldiers who attacked his friends hadn't really been focusing on their speed.

The story about his mother's death had managed to convince his friends to let him go on his own. They were still reluctant and worried, and wished him good luck on his mission. They were obviously scared that they would never see him again, and he felt the same way.

It was sort of like… those moments right before his suicide mission.

He shook those memories out of his head as he continued running. The footprints were leading him to what appeared to be a village in the distance.

Cody slowed down his pace a bit as he approached the small town. He decided to stick to the shadows. He already knew that he would be outnumbered, so stealth was his only advantage.

When he got close, he saw a group of people standing in the middle of the town, surrounding something. He could hear an argument between two rather familiar voices coming from beyond the wall of humans. He quickly hid behind a house on the border of the village.

"-if you already hadn't crossed the line by cursing Cody's memory, you old _drunk_." That had to be Harry.

A silence fell with an extremely tense atmosphere. Then, a few soft footsteps could be heard, followed by a dark voice.

"If all you can do is insult me…" that was most certainly Cody's father, general Boone. "You. Should. Leave."

 _Shit_ , Cody thought. _I never experienced Harry that angry before. Something must be going on_.

He was used to his father's anger, but Harry? He would rarely lose his cool. And although Cody couldn't see him, he imagined his friend glaring back at the general with no fear in his eyes.

Suddenly, a yell from his father could be heard. A yell… of fear?

"Corporal! Come Back!"

Harry had left the group and was walking to the edge of the town. Towards the house Cody was hiding behind.

Then, a woman's voice.

"Harry!"

Harry ignored her. He just kept walking.

When he was near the house, one thought went through Cody's head as he drew his gun.

 _Now or never!_

He emerged from his hiding spot, grabbed the corporal by the collar and held his pistol at his hostage's head.

"Nobody move!" he yelled. "Or I'll splatter his brains all over the place!"

He looked at the group. The wall of people between him and his father had opened once Harry had passed through it. Next to the general lay two girls who Cody recognized all too well.

Spidey and Skelly were laying on the ground, barely conscious. They had cuts and bruises on their bodies and small tears in their clothing. Their legs were injured the worst: they had definitely been shot with the weapons the Resistance always used.

Filled with rage, he threw Harry on the ground and stepped into the light, still aiming his gun at the younger man and glaring daggers at the older one.

"…Cody?" his father whispered. His voice was raspy, most likely due to the shock. Cody didn't reply, as he was too busy directing his rage towards the group.

After a long silence, Scott spoke up.

"I… it's so good to see you again!" he said, his voice still raspy. This only darkened his son's mood. Evidently, he had abducted, tortured and threatened his friends, only to be all soft and friendly when Cody came along.

"I can't say the same," the sergeant replied icily. He usually seemed cold, but now he was absolute zero.

"I didn't know you were a racist," the 23-year-old continued. "You shot and tortured the innocent, like they did in the dark ages of our world. Torture until they 'admitted' their 'guilt'." He briefly looked at the corporal on the ground and his voice became darker. "Did you know they usually did that to prevent the pain that was coming to them?"

Then, without warning, he aimed the gun at Harry's kneecap and pulled the trigger. The younger male screamed out in pain as a result. Cody looked up at Scott and aimed the gun in his direction.

"Give me the girls…" he began, "or you're about to enter a world of hurt."

The general stood frozen. He certainly didn't expect to hear this from his youngest son. Sure, the boy always seemed emotionless and even vengeful at times, but he never threatened his father like that. It took about fifteen seconds until he shook his head.

"No…" he said. "If I die, those things will still be kept prisoner by these people." He gestured to the villagers surrounding him. "Surely, you should know that if you were to kill them all, you would never be able to live with yourself."

Cody smirked darkly.

"Of course I wouldn't be able to live. At all. Who told you this was about _physical_ hurt?"

And with that, he quickly put the barrel of his gun against his chin.

"Everyone froze. The two girls on the ground looked at him with wide eyes, shaking their heads to try to tell him _not to do it_. The villagers looked scared and backed off. Harry, who still lay on the ground was frozen and had wide eyes as well. Scott managed to keep his cool, but fear could still be seen on his face.

The general was the first one to speak.

"You wouldn't do that," he said. "You wouldn't commit suicide for these _monsters_."

"Is that so?" Cody replied. "I've done it before, remember? The suicide mission… I never expected that I'd be saved or resurrected by some paranormal force, but it happened." His finger inched closer to the trigger. "I feel like I should've died anyway, so I might as well let that happen now."

"WAIT!" a female voice said. Everyone flinched as Freya spoke up.

"We'll hand over the prisoners. Just do not harm anybody – yourself included," the priestess said in a worried voice. "But we cannot simply let you go right now. They will need shelter and medication, first. The sun is about to rise, and I am aware that one of these will not survive that."

"Freya…" Scott said. She ignored him and looked at Cody again.

"When they are at full health, you have my word you can bring them back," she reasoned.

"Enough!" Scott yelled. He started walking towards the priestess with a glare that could kill. However, his advance was cut short when Stephen suddenly stepped between him and his target.

Scott was just about to take a fighting stance when Cody spoke up again.

"Why do you think they're monsters?" he asked. Scott lowered his fists and turned to his son.

"From what we've heard, they have the urge to kill," he said. "It's in their nature."

Cody blinked. He thought his father would've been more skeptic than to simply take someone else's word for something like that. He holstered his gun and proceeded to walk to his wounded friends.

"If they have an urge to kill…," he began as he helped them stand up. "… then why did they save my life?"

Several gasps could be heard. Scott was frozen. Was his son telling the truth?

"Sergeant…" he said in a calmer tone. "Is this true? Do you really owe them your life?"

Cody looked at him. "Yes, general," he responded. "I was transported here after my suicide mission. I had lost consciousness and suffered severe injuries that would've killed me if it weren't for them nursing me back to health to the best of their abilities."

He looked at the mobs, who had to lean on him in order to keep their balance.

"You alright?" he softly asked. It was a stupid question, really, and one of which he already knew the answer.

Spidey let out a chuckle. "What do you think, idiot…" she mumbled.

He turned to Skelly, who said: "I've been better… but I'm glad to see you here."

"I'm glad to see you two alive," he softly said. "We thought you were dead."

Spidey scoffed. "Ya really thought we were that fragile? I never thought you were a sexist, Sergeant. Just so ya know now, we don't die that easily."

Cody smirked. _Yup, she's going to be alright_ , he thought.

"But Sergeant…" Skelly began. "You really shouldn't have threatened to kill yourself. It pains me to see you in danger because of us."

Cody calmly looked her in the eye. "First of all, you can call me Cody," he said. "'Sergeant' isn't really a name. It's my rank in the military. As for the thing with the gun, I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I let you suffer just 'cause _I_ wanted to live."

Skelly looked back at him, her expression serious.

"You're not the only one who wants you to live…" she whispered.

The villagers, Scott and Harry were still shocked over what Cody just revealed. They saved his life? They're his friends?

The silence was broken when Freya approached the three.

"Come with me," she said. "I will take you to the infirmary."

"I will provide you with the necessary medication," Lambert suddenly said. "I believe the girl-in-gray's anatomy differs most from ours. Harming potions serve as a cure for her." He looked at the girl in question. "Is that correct?"

Skelly slowly nodded. "Yes," she said. Her voice was still soft and raspy, likely due to the terrible treatment she was given. "Harming potions have a healing effect on me."

Rachel stepped forward. "If you ever need food, just ask me," she said. "I have plenty of bread."

"You can ask me too, if you want some meat," Diana, the butcher, said.

Cody could barely follow what was happening at the moment. This village, the same village that let Scott torture the mobs for answers, was ready to help save those very mobs' lives. Things really took a turn when he revealed what they did when they found him injured.

Scott said nothing. He looked ashamed, and Cody could understand that. That didn't mean he forgave him for what he did a few minutes ago. Also, he needed to ask the old man about why Harry called him a drunk before.

The sergeant followed Freya and Lambert to the infirmary.


	13. Ready for departure

_Chapter thirteen: Ready for departure_

Cody stood outside, looking into the distance. With how everyone and everything seemed to be improving, the events that transpired three days ago already started to be reduced to a bad memory. The potions Lambert used to heal his patients had proven to be remarkably effective, removing the girls' pain and injuries in no time. They still weren't fully healed – Cody knew that his father was extremely strong so this didn't come as a surprise – but they were close. They frequently held conversations with each other and with Cody if he was around. They had tried to talk to the villagers as well, but given the history between the two parties it was rather difficult. Nobody held real grudges, but it their conversations were still rusty. Despite this, Cody had hope that it would get better in the future.

Harry did a good job on integrating. He was able to talk to both the mobs and the villagers with no problem at all. Unless you count his shyness, that is. It was always hard for him to talk to anyone, especially if they were of the opposite gender. Skelly was usually polite and formal, but her revealing clothes didn't help.

Scott… well… let's just say that Cody started to understand what Harry meant when he called the old man a drunk. He wasn't drinking now, but he most certainly would've if there was any whiskey around. He loved that stuff, but usually only drank it when there was something to celebrate – and even then, he was careful not to make a mess of his mind.

The only other time the general had been drunk was right after his wife's death. After that, Cody thought he had learned his lesson, but apparently he did it again when his son 'passed away'.

The relationship between father and son had always been a bit unstable. They shared several traits, like their somewhat insensitive asshole personalities, but they regularly disagreed on things. Whereas Cody was more than willing to risk or even give up his life to save others, Scott made more calculated decisions. Like a robot, he would leave people behind if they would hinder his mission. Unless one of those people was his son.

Cody suddenly jolted when someone grabbed him from behind and held him in an inescapable grasp. The sergeant calmed down, knowing who it was. He looked up as much as possible (which wasn't much), and saw a girl with red eyes and purple hair smirking down at him.

"I didn't know you were allowed to leave the infirmary," he calmly said. Spidey chuckled.

"I'm not," she said. "But I don't care!"

"That was to be expected," Cody said as she released him from her grip. He got up and cracked his neck. "But don't you think that you should listen to the doctor's orders? We always had to do that back at the Resistance."

"No," The spider girl simply said. Then, she got more serious. "But seriously… I just wanted to thank you for helping us three days ago. You took a risk, hunting down our attackers like that."

Cody shrugged. "Harry and Dad didn't want me dead. I didn't take any risk," he said.

Spidey smirked again. "Well, thanks anyway," she replied. "Oh, yeah, by the way…"

The sergeant looked at her questioningly.

"When can we go back home?" she asked. "The others must be worried. We've been gone for a while."

Cody nodded. He didn't want to leave, because he wanted to make sure Spidey and Skelly were going to be alright. He didn't even really trust the physician until their conditions improved.

"If you and Skelly were to be actually _allowed_ to go outside…" he began, earning a groan from the girl. "I'd say we'd be able to go home as soon as possible."

"Oi!" someone suddenly yelled. Lambert stumbled towards them. Once he was near the two, he spoke, panting.

"Ms. Spidey… I… *pant*… did not… give you… permission… to lea-"

Spidey interrupted him, smirking once more. "Make me go back, then!" she said, before running off and climbing onto the wall of the infirmary with little effort. Her spider-like abilities allowed her to stick onto any surface, including walls and ceilings. Her speed, agility and stamina further enhanced the challenge to catch her.

"Grrr…" Lambert growled. "Ah well… her condition had improved well enough either way." He glared at her grinning face as she sat on the roof. "Very well, then! I hereby grant you permission to leave the infirmary. Not that it matters…" he muttered.

He turned to Cody, who ceased his chuckling. "I am here to inform you that Ms. Skelly will receive permission to leave the infirmary as well once the sun sets." the physician said.

* * *

It was already dark when Skelly left the infirmary. Outside, she was greeted by Spidey, Harry and Rachel.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Skelly," Rachel said as she gave the mob her bow and arrows back.

"Likewise," Skelly said. She took her equipment with a grateful nod.

"Cody would be here too, but he had to talk to his Dad for a while," Spidey said. Her voice initially seemed normal, but the other mob detected some sadness in it.

"Really?" she asked. "To make amends, I assume?"

"That, and it would seem that the librarian has a way to send us back to our world," Harry explained. "Jasmine knows some magic."

Upon hearing that, Skelly realized just why Spidey seemed so sad. Cody was going back to his own world? They could understand the reason, and she tried her best to feel happy for him, but she couldn't help but feel a bit depressed. She, Spidey and the other mobs had grown quite attached to him during the time he had been living with them. They considered him a part of the gang, the first human of their group ever.

"…Really?" she asked again. "So they're returning to their world?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, and I think I'm going with them," he responded.

Rachel said nothing and discretely looked at the ground.

* * *

Cody and Scott were staring at their reflections in the well. They didn't look at one another and were surrounded by silence for an unspecified amount of time. Then, Scott suddenly spoke.

"I'm sorry."

He didn't expect his son to reply, or at least not immediately or positively. However, soon after his apology he heard a snort from his right. He looked at Cody, who was the source of the sound.

"If you want to apologize to anyone…" he growled, "…apologize to the girls. And Harry, 'cause I think it's safe to say that you rejected him when he tried to separate you from your booze."

Scott said nothing. He didn't feel anything other than guilt. What the sergeant said was true. He hadn't realized what he was becoming, that he already had become at least as bad as the Enlightened. He drank, tortured and discriminated without a second thought. He hadn't been skeptic at all when he was told that the mobs were evil. That wasn't like him.

"You're right," he said. "I will. But I owe you an apology as well."

Cody looked at him.

"Why?" he asked.

The general simply answered: "I was unable to stop you from killing yourself. I became a drunk. I tortured your friends. And…" he paused briefly, averting his eyes from his son's gaze. "…I've always been a shitty father."

Cody blinked. A shitty father? Why? Sure, they had had their disagreements, but his father was the one who taught him the majority of a soldier's life. He made it clear that he cared about his son, in his own way.

The 23-year-old sighed. "I think that 'shitty father' part is a bit exaggerated," he said. "We definitely didn't agree on everything, but it's because of you that I've survived this long. You were my mentor, and I know you care."

Scott gave him a surprised look. Did he really mean that? If he did, then maybe making amends with this boy wasn't as difficult as he initially thought. Cody would likely remain disrespectful even after Scott had apologized to everyone, but they would certainly get as close as they once were eventually.

Going back to their world was the top priority for now. However, Scott had a feeling that Cody would have second thoughts about leaving his new friends in this one.

He counted on it.


	14. Epilogue - Blood divided once again

**Hello, ladies and gentlemen!**

 **This is the last chapter of my first story. As I'm typing this, I'm still not sure how to begin. I have an idea about how it'll play out, though.**

 **Anyway, go ahead and read. Information about a possible sequel is at the end.**

* * *

 _Epilogue – Blood divided once again_

Jasmine was in her basement, readying the necessary objects and drawing the symbols for the portal she was going to open. The librarian didn't have exceptionally much skill in magic, but she could still transport the soldiers back to their world. She wasn't entirely happy with it, though: not only could the three men prove themselves to be good guards for the village, she had also seen the sadness hiding behind the eyes of that Spidey girl. It was well concealed, but Jasmine wasn't easily fooled.

She had also felt the conflict in two of those soldiers. General Boone seemed fine, but Harry and Cody weren't entirely okay with leaving their new friends behind like that. Sure, she had caught wind of Cody's suicide mission and that he had left his friends in his world in order to perform it, but it still wasn't easy for him. Maybe it was even more difficult this time…

She finished the symbol she had been drawing on the wall for the last five minutes. Tired, she ran a hand through her hair and looked at the scene. The only thing it needed now was her magic directed at it. She would inform the soldiers first, of course.

* * *

Cody was sitting on a chair in Rachel's house. In front of him, Harry was pacing frantically. Neither of them had said a word, but they knew their respective conflicts were one and the same. They didn't want to leave Scott's side, but they also didn't want to leave their new friends.

Rachel herself wasn't home: she was talking some more with Spidey and Skelly. The three seemed to be getting closer. They were already able to have conversations, and Rachel already apologized to the two on behalf of the entire village. Her apology was accepted rather quickly.

"Harry, sit down." Cody sighed. "Pacing isn't going to help."

Before Harry could respond, the door opened. Scott entered, causing Harry to salute.

"Gene-" he began, before the older man interrupted him.

"At ease, corporal," he said. The younger soldier put his hand down and continued pacing.

Scott tilted his head slightly. "Is _this_ what you think of when I say 'at ease'?"

Harry stopped his pace again and looked at the general. He shook his head.

"No, sir," he said.

"Sit down, corporal," the old man commanded. "I have some things to discuss with you two."

Harry obeyed him and sat on the other chair. Cody gave his father a nod.

"General," he said. "What did you want to talk about?"

Scott looked at them both. "I've noticed that you two have been a bit depressed lately," he replied, gaining questioning looks as an answer.

"How did you know?" Cody asked. His dad chuckled.

"I guess you two are just terrible at hiding your personal emotions," he joked, causing the two soldiers to let out a chuckle as well. Then, the atmosphere turned serious again.

"I'm general Scott Boone. If I didn't know how my son was feeling, I'd be a terrible father." He turned to Harry. "Same goes for my subordinates. The fact that you're more passionate than sergeant Boone and I made it all the more easy for me to notice your sadness, and I can't ignore it."

He looked at them both. "You don't want to leave your friends, do you?"

The younger males did what they usually did when they were asked a question like this. Harry burst out gibberish, stuttering as he attempted to form words and improvise at the same time in order to 'explain' the situation. Cody remained silent and seemingly calm, but averted his gaze slightly. His emotions were always hard for most others to read, but like the older man said, Scott was his father. He knew how his son worked.

"At ease, corporal," he repeated, silencing the corporal in question, who didn't make eye contact. Cody continued to use the deafening silence as his words.

Eventually, after several minutes of silence, the sergeant spoke up.

"You're right, general," he softly said. "We don't want to leave our friends." Scott sighed in response.

"No need to be so emotional about it, fellows," he said. "After all, now that the war in our world is over, things go back to their usual state." He let those words sink in for a moment.

"Including…" he continued. "The fact that the people who were once kids will leave their parents in order to start a life for themselves."

That caught their attention. They knew that before the war that kind of stuff happened, and never stopped for the Enlightened and the people whose minds they controlled. Resistance soldiers would usually stay with their families to protect them, and because travelling from base to base wasn't easy.

The general chuckled inwardly upon seeing their surprised faces and resumed his speech.

"I think it's time for you guys to do just that," he said. "I even encourage you to do so, 'cause the only home we have in the other world is that Resistance base. The one with the shitty beds and the dim lights."

The room got silent again. Cody and Harry were dumbfounded. General Boone, that cold, stern, 'do-what-I-tell-you-or-I-will-have-you-scrub-the-floor' man, would just let them go? Even his own son? They couldn't believe it.

Finally, Harry spoke up. "This is a dream, isn't it?" he chuckled. Cody then pierced the remaining silence with a simple but serious question.

"What about you?" he asked his father. "What're you going to do?"

The old man smiled. "I'm going back," he said. "I'm going to help with restoring the Earth. The war's messed it up badly, and everyone's planning to get that undone. It's time for me to get out there and give them a hand."

It was silent for a while. Then, the door opened and Jasmine, the librarian, entered.

"The preparations are complete," she said.

* * *

"Cody!"

The man in question turned around to see the two mobs running towards him. He had been wandering through the village after the old man departed from this world. The spell Jasmine used to send him back had created a somewhat small portal to the Resistance base. Nobody else was visible on the other side, and the soldiers had said their goodbyes before Scott stepped through it. The girls hadn't been informed yet, however.

Once they were near him, they stopped. He noticed their worried looks… or was it sadness he saw? They still thought that he was about to leave for good, so it would make sense.

He had to give them credit for doing a great job of hiding their emotions, though.

"Before I say anything…" Spidey suddenly said. "Don't think that me leaning on you three days ago meant anything, 'cause it… y'know… didn't."

Cody looked at her and said: "I never said it did."

Then, Skelly spoke up.

"When will you… leave?" she asked. Her voice trembled a bit.

"I'm not," Cody simply said. Upon hearing that, the girls' expressions became mixtures of shock, confusion and surprise.

"You see…" Cody continued. "My father went back to my world, but Harry and I are staying. The old man even encouraged us to do so, if you can believe that."

After mere seconds, Spidey's face became normal again.

"Of course you'd stay," she said in an almost bored voice. "Who'd leave their friends behind like that? It's only logical that you gotta start a life for yourself someday."

She walked off keeping a straight face, but Cody and Skelly detected some relief and joy from behind her eyes.

Skelly was still frozen, but then regained her composure too.

"I must say that I'm quite glad that you're staying here," she said in her usual formal tone, smiling. "I don't know how long it would've taken me to get over your departure."

"Well…" Cody airily said. "Spidey's right. Everyone has to gain independence from their parents eventually."

He looked at the moon, which had only just revealed itself from behind the mountains in the distance.

"We should go back," he said. "We're wasting moonlight, and the others are probably going to be relieved _and_ pissed once we get back."

Skelly chuckled. "You're probably right," she agreed. "Though we will likely be returning here frequently now that we have a truce with the Koïtians."

There was a silence between the two for a while. It didn't take long, as Spidey suddenly came by again.

"Ready to go?" she asked.

Cody nodded and sighed.

"The others really are going to get pissed…" he said. "The only thing we have to do now other than go home is make up some excuses and alibis."

* * *

 **Hey guys!**

 **I hope you all enjoyed my first story. Despite the fact that my skill in English is somewhat limited…**

 **Anyway, I may make a possible sequel if you guys want. However, due to the fact that school just started for me again, its updates won't be as frequent.**

 **Also, I'm still thinking about the plot. I have a few ideas, and might even make this a trilogy. Tell me what you think.**

 **Have a great day!**


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